after Serie Barford
Now that I’m an old woman
I hear breathing in my head
It used to come in gulps and gusts
or late at night in bed
It carried me through day and night
It suggested that I go
where random misdirection
often brought me low
I knew that breath was part of life
so I followed it along
even when unvarnished truth
convinced me I was wrong
But no more do I give a damn
for anything I’ve said
now that I’m an old woman and
hear breathing in my head.